Madina Lake - Carling Academy Birmingham - 09.28.2007
Posted by Josh McAuley on 11.03.2007
Upcoming rock stars join the big leagues with a bang...
As I arrived at the Carling Academy in Birmingham one thing struck me, here I was over two hours before the doors were even scheduled to open and yet there were already several hundred fans queuing outside the venue. Nothing can quite prepare you for the amazing displays of devotion by fans of Madina Lake, many following them around for the entire tour, spending upwards of five hundred pounds purely for the privilege of seeing their heroes live in the flesh. It is hard to believe that just a year ago the band had not released a single album and was relatively unknown, it is testament to both the tremendous street team and the work ethic of both the fans and the band alike.
Upon entering the Birmingham Academy two major things strike you, first that for a venue that appears tiny from the outside it is actually surprisingly large, spanning several floors and with a number of bars both in the main pit and on the a balconies. Secondly it reminds you that whilst Madina Lake may be getting quite large in size, they are still adapting to the stage. Indeed the small vinyl backdrop depicting the cover of their debut album "From Us, Through Them, To You" is dwarfed by the size of the stage, immediately upon entering the building fans swarm on the merchandise booth, this is only the second ever headlining UK tour for the band and the first time that merchandise has been particularly widely available, thus it is quickly swarmed upon by the masses.
First to take to the stage are unkowns "My American Heart", greeted with general apathy from all but a dedicated few they push through their set, delivering fun background music but nothing of note. Following this come on "Halifax", their stage set is the most complex of the night with two screens being placed at the back of the stage. They thunder through a set that covers all the neccasary bases and provides mild entertainment, nothing earth shattering though. Prehaps a band to watch in the future but for now just a band to watch whilst waiting for Madina Lake. It is worth noting that the third support act "Envy On The Coast" have never been to England before and rarely play anything bigger than a club. In spite of this they pull out a good set, providing entertainment and getting the biggest reaction out of all of the support acts.
Few bands have such excitement around them in the rock scene at the moment as Madina Lake. Their exciting debut, high profile support slots and amazing street team has made them one of the breakout bands of 2007. From the moment they enter, accompanied by instrumental track "The Auspice" the crowd is simply put: crazy. Every song is greeted with the enthusiasm usually reserved for favorites. Opener Adalia is strong and invovled many circle pits breaking out across the venue, the chorus evoking a huge singalong. And then there comes the band themselves.
Nathan Leone as a frontman is tremendous, filled with energy and such sincerety that from the moment he opens his mouth he has the room wrapped around his finger. When he tells the crowd that tonight is the best night of his life it is hard not to believe him. He takes every oppertunity possible to dive headfirst into the crowd, being carried around like some sort of hero. His vocals are so clear and contain such sincerity that he cant help but remind me of a young Billy Corgan. Occasionaly he has a tendency to push his voice to far, making it become slightly raspy. But this is secondary to the amazing performance he gives. Set highlights such as "Stars" and "Here I Stand" just go to show what an excellent live force this band is.
The rest of the band is just as entertaining, they all seem to be genuinly grateful for the reaction and response to their music. They all play with such a passion and energy that it is hard to imagine any other band performing live. For quite simply for the hour and a half that the band are on stage they are the zeitgeist.
After briefly going off stage to huge cheers and "Madina Lake" chants from the crowd the band returned to provide an excellent encore. Performing crowd pleaser "Pandora" with a talent that is rarely seen on-stage. Following this the band performed album closer "True Love", the heaviest song on the album. It is at this point that the crowd goes wild, the majority of the room is a pit strewn with bodies and smiling faces. Closing with a cover of the Nine Inch Nails classic "March Of The Pigs" the band prehaps for the first time lose touch with the crowd tonight, it appears that not many people know what song they are playing and indeed the person next to me remarks "I think it's a new song". In spite of this by the end of the song the crowd is just as wild as it was before, after a heartfelt thank you and goodbye from Nathan they leave the stage, leaving 3000 sweating, heaving bodies grinning from ear to ear.
The 411: Sometimes to truly enjoy a band you have to tune out from what you are told to like. Madina Lake are perhaps one of those bands, treated by some as simply a pop band with the addition of guitars, however if you manage to get under the label then you see that Madina Lake are a force when it comes to live shows, performing with an energy and consistency rarely seen on-stage. Virtually flawless.
